Quick! Name some famous skeptics!  [......Crickets chirping......]

Ok, how about this.  Name some famous Magicians.  [Harry Houdini, Penn and Teller]  And here’s some more…  James Randi, Johnny Carson and Orson Welles.

• Harry Houdini set up his famous séances to prove that the supernatural world didn’t exist.
• Penn and Teller have an excellent show about debunking called “BullShit!”
• James Randi is a famous debunker and offers his famous $1,000,000 challenge for anyone who can prove the existence of the paranormal.
• Live on TV, Johnny Carson worked with James Randi to debunk charlatan Yuri Geller.
• Orson Welles has made “F” for Fake.  A great “Documentary-Essay” on fraud, forgers and trickery.

Magic is the art of fooling people for their own entertainment. Charlatanism is the art of fooling people for one’s own gain.

All magicians know they are tricking people, most charlatans do as well.  It’s the people who think their ‘tricks’ are real that are the most disturbing, because they actually think they’re doing some good.